Calypso

Raymond Quevedo is born in Trinidad. He will find fame as calypso singer Attila The Hun.

Frederick Wilmoth Hendricks is born in Port Of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago, Caribbean. He will find international fame as calypsonian Wilmoth Houdini.

Henry Rodemeyer of Manhattan, New York City, USA, is granted Patent No. US699978A for his invention of an improved 'sounder' for stringed musical instruments.

Rafael de Leon is born in Aroquita, Trinidad, British Trinidad and Tobago. He will find success as calyso singer Roaring Lion.

Calypso-style pianist Lionel Belasco records Junk Man Rag, Bajan Girl, Buddy Abraham, Little Brown Boy and other tracks, for Victor Records in Camden, New Jersey, USA, for their West Indian (Trinidad) marketing genre.

Aldwyn Roberts is born in Arima, Trinidad. He will find international fame as calypso singer and songwriter Lord Kitchener best remembered for his popular song Cricket, Lovely, Cricket.

Harold George is born in Harlem, New York City. He will find fame as Harry Belafonte, hugely popular US singer/actor, and occasional employer of Bob Dylan's talents as a harmonica player.

A devastating 140mph hurricane hits The Bahamas. It will go down in local legend as The Great Andros Island Hurricane, and will be immortalised in the song Run Come See Jerusalem, written by Bahamian calypso singer Blind Blake.

Ernest Ranglin is born in Manchester, West Central Jamica, Caribbean. He will find success as an extraordinarily versatile guitarist whose talent embraced the jazz, pop, calypso and mento styles, as well as composing music for films. He is perhaps most well-known as the man who played guitar on and arranged the 1963 international hit My Boy Lollipop by Millie Small.

The dirigible airship, Graf Zeppelin, on its way from South America to Germany, Europe, via the Chicago World’s fair, flies over Trinidad. Large crowds turn out to see the spectacle of this gigantic flying machine, and the incident inspires calypsonian Attila The Hun to write and record his 1934 song Graf Zeppelin.

Hubert Raphael Charles, aka Roaring Lion, records his own composition, the calypso Marry An Ugly Woman for Perfect Records in Port Of Spain, Trinidad, Caribbean. The song will inspire the 1963 No1 Billboard hit single If You Wanna Be Happy by Jimmy Soul.

The Caresser (aka Lord Caresser), with John 'Buddy' Williams And His Rhythm Orchestra, records Clear The Way When The Bamboo Play, for Decca Records in Port Of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies, Caribbean.

Clarence Profit's Trio and The Calypso Recorders are playing at The Village Vanguard, Greenwich Village, New York City, USA.

Lord Invader performs his composition Rum And Coca Cola for the first time in front of a paying audience in the Victory Calypso Tent [an informal music venue set up for the carnival season] in Port of Spain, Trindidad, West Indies. Six months later, visiting US radio comedian Morey Amsterdam will hear the song, take it back to the USA, sanitise its saucy lyric and copyright it in his own name. Rum And Coca Cola will be a huge hit for The Andrews Sisters but Lord Invader will have to go to court to win his royalties.

Calypso stars Wilmoth Houdini, Duke Of Iron, Lord Invader, Sir Launcelot, Lord Kitchener, Lady Trinidad, Queen Calypso Hindu Pass Fire King and Human Thunderbolt play in the AFRO-West Indian Shango Carnival And Dance at The Golden Gate Ballroom, San Francisco, California, USA.

Calypsonian Lord Beginner with Cyril Blake's Calypso Serenaders records The Dollar And The Pound and I Will Die A Bachelor, for Parlophone Records in Abbey Road Studios, London, UK.

Legendary calypsonian Lord Kitchener with Cyril Blake's Calypso Serenaders record The Underground Train and Nora, for Parlophone Records in in Abbey Road Studios, London, UK.

All parties in two copyright cases about ownership of the massively successful Lord Invader song Rum And Coca Cola sign legal papers indicating that a settlement has been reached. The song had been falsely copyrighted by comedian Morey Amsterdam who heard it while working in Trinidad some years earlier. The precise amount awarded to Lord Invader has never been revealed but figures published at the time suggested $150,000.

The District Court in New York City, USA, dismisses two copyright cases about ownership of the massively successful Lord Invader song Rum And Coca Cola. This is because all parties involved in the dispute have recently signed legal papers indicating that a settlement has been reached between them. The song had been falsely copyrighted by comedian Morey Amsterdam who heard it while working in Trinidad some years earlier. The precise amount awarded to Lord Invader has never been revealed but figures published at the time suggested $150,000.

Lord Beginner And The Calypso Rhythm Kings record Trinidad Blues, Joe Louis Calypso, Straight Hair Girl and Boul've'se' for Melodisc Records in London, UK.

Calypsonian Lord Executor dies.

David Michael Rudder, one of the greatest calypso performers of all time, is born in Belmont, Trinidad and Tobago.

Harry Belafonte records Kalenda Rock [Mourning Song] in RCA Victor's Manhattan Center, New York City, USA. Pianist on the session is Ray Charles.

The musical film Carmen Jones, a contemporary version of the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet, starring Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey and Dorothy Dandridge opens in the USA.

Tropical cyclone Hurricane Janet attains Category 3 status as it passes Barbados. It will go on to kill 500 people across the Caribbean. Calypso artist Lord Melody will be inspired by this disaster to write his song Hurricane Janet, which will also be recorded by Lord Christo.

Harry Belafonte records The Banana Boat Song for RCA Records in Webster Hall, New York City, USA. Although widely regarded as the song that launched the calypso craze, it is in fact in the Jamaican mento style.

Calypsonian Lord Caresser (aka The Caresser) is appearing in The Venus De Milo Room, Mongtreal, Quebec, Canada.

Izzy Young opens The Folklore Center in Greenwich Village, New York City, USA. His first customers are said to have been Harry Belafonte and Burl Ives.

Cy Grant sings a calypso based on current news events during his appearance on the BBC-tv current affairs magazine show Tonight in London, England, UK, Europe.

In Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, Harry Belafonte has the last of four recording sessions during which he records tracks for his blues-influenced album Belafonte Sings The Blues.

Lord Myrie [guitar and vocals], Cecil Mitchell [banjo] and James Convery [marimba box], record the album Calypso Jamaica in Kingston, Jamaica, for Cook-Microfusion Records.

The Beatles, Gerry And The Pacemakers, Kingsize Taylor And The Dominoes, Simon Cardovo And His Royal Carribean Steel Band and Bill Bailey's Calypso Band play in the St Patrick's Night Rock And Cha Cha Ball at The Iron Door Club, Liverpool, England, UK, Europe.

Harry Belafonte plays in Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York State, USA.

The album Belafonte At C arnegie Hall by Harry Belafonte is awarded a Gold Disc in the USA by the R.I.A.A.

Cy Grant performs a news-based calypso on the BBC-tv topical magazine show Tonight, broadcast live from London, England, UK, Europe.

The annual National Association of Record Merchandisers convention begins at The Eden Roc Hotel, Miami, Florida, USA.

The album Calypso by Harry Belafonte is awarded a Gold Disc in the USA by the R.I.A.A.. The album was released in 1956.

During a run of shows at The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA, Harry Belafonte records a live LP, Belafonte At The Greek Theatre. Backstage, Belafonte is presented with three gold discs for albums which have each achieved over one million sales.

Mahalia Jackson, Marian Anderson, Odetta, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Peter, Paul And Mary are among the musicians appearing at the Civil Rights March on Washington, DC, USA. Other musicians in attendance (but not performing) include Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis Jr, Judy Garland and Bobby Darin.

Harry Belafonte and Woody Herman are guests on tv show The Bell Telephone Hour in the USA.

Internationally successful bandleader, vocalist, songwriter and nightclub entrepreneur Edmundo Ros is appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London, England, UK, Europe.

Calypso singer and songwriter Lord Kitchener, best-remembered for his popular song Cricket, Lovely, Cricket, dies aged 77 in Champs Fleur, Trinidad, Caribbean.

Popular calypso singer and recording artist Sir Lancelot dies of natural causes, aged 98, in Anaheim, California, USA.

Calypso star The Mighty Duke dies of myelofibrosis in Saint Clair, Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean.

Gal Holiday And The Honky Tonk Revue play at Dmac’s, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.